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opinions on inspections/licencing

I am a big believer in permits and inspections and individual licensing. I spent the first 15 years of my career in the Springfield Mo area where every job is permited and inspected and it takes a master mechanical license to even get the permit and you have to have a journeyman on the job at all times and every company had to follow those rules union or not. The code enforcement personel are strict and by the book. Two years ago i moved to joplin mo just an hour away from springfield and was shocked at how different it is here. Joplin is a city of 60,000 or so and you dont need anyting but a business license here. There are plumbing and electrical inspections but no mechanical inspections. Two years ago an F5 tornado literally destroyed half the city it was the deadliest tornado in us history162 people died. During the rebuilding every guy that owned a hammer and a pair of snips came to the area to underbid the proffesionals and gobble up the work doing just horrible work and nobody could do anything about it and by now they are long gone and us local professionals have to clean up the mess. So who is in favor of inspections and individual licensing and who thinks it is not needed i look forward to hearing everyones opinion. I for one am for the inspections 100 percent i think it gets rid of the fly by night contractors and keeps te quality of work at a high level according to the mechanical code that everyone should be abiding by. What do you guys think?

I am a big believer in permits and inspections and individual licensing. I spent the first 15 years of my career in the Springfield Mo area where every job is permitted and inspected and it takes a master mechanical license to even get the permit and you have to have a journeyman on the job at all times and every company had to follow those rules union or not. The code enforcement personnel are strict and by the book. Two years ago i moved to joplin mo just an hour away from springfield and was shocked at how different it is here. Joplin is a city of 60,000 or so and you don't need anything but a business license here. There are plumbing and electrical inspections but no mechanical inspections. Two years ago an F5 tornado literally destroyed half the city it was the deadliest tornado in us history162 people died. During the rebuilding every guy that owned a hammer and a pair of snips came to the area to underbid the professionals and gobble up the work doing just horrible work and nobody could do anything about it and by now they are long gone and us local professionals have to clean up the mess. So who is in favor of inspections and individual licensing and who thinks it is not needed i look forward to hearing everyone's opinion. I for one am for the inspections 100 percent i think it gets rid of the fly by night contractors and keeps Te quality of work at a high level according to the mechanical code that everyone should be abiding by. What do you guys think?

I'm for inspections all the way but not for draconian "union" regulations like for a "journeyman" on the job at all times. Here in GA you need a Conditioned air licenses to get a permit and you are responsible for the work but don't have to be there all the time. You would need to be there in most cases when the inspector comes out and that is about it provided the work is done correctly. No need for all that BS of who could actually do the work, etc. provided it was done under your direction and oversight if you didn't do it yourself that is. Thank you very much

"I could have ended the war in a month. I could have made North Vietnam look like a mud puddle."
"I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution."Barry Goldwater

the main reason the states want contractor licencing is so you know what you owe them for taxes, my proof to that statement is in the inspectors office. i have never met an inspector that had any hands on experince with the trade that he inspected

the main reason the states want contractor licencing is so you know what you owe them for taxes, my proof to that statement is in the inspectors office. i have never met an inspector that had any hands on experince with the trade that he inspected

That my friend depends on which county or city inspects your work. Some inspection departments have first class inspectors and others not so good then others hire an AC company to inspect HVAC work which is not good because of conflict of interest issues.

Some counties in GA have no inspection departments and some don't even issue permits or enforce codes. They are only a few though and are small rular counties. There needs to be inspection though bad or good its better than none. Thank you very much

"I could have ended the war in a month. I could have made North Vietnam look like a mud puddle."
"I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution."Barry Goldwater

I'm all for it. I just feel all the extra politics in some states is complete bs, and that different counties in the same state shouldn't have different requirements. IMHO, one set of rules should apply across the board, for that matter, why not a federal set of requirements, and if a state wants to go above and beyond that for environmental or local reasons, fine. There is a reason that "Manual J", "Manual D" & "Modern Refrigeration & A/C" are used as study materials for damn near every state HVAC contractors exam, the knowledge in all three is universal, and works in almost any HVAC installation nation wide. When I worked out of Louisville, Ky as a HVAC contractor, from there to Indianapolis, IN, to Cincinnati, OH, the permit process was short and to the point, go down town, fill out a front and back sheet with basic questions Who, What, When, Where & How Much. License and insurance info is automatically updated in their systems from the state capitals, and city licensing devisions. When your done, call the inspections dept. they send out a quality inspector with hands on experience or classroom knowledge of state, local and federal codes, you pass or fail, or in some cases (depending on how small the mistake), take the inspector to lunch, he gives your crew an hour or so to fix the mistake, BAM, all done. The home owner is safe and comfortable, you made money, the city made money off of you, every one is happy. And now with the quality install, you can sell a pm contract to the home owner, put up a yard sign, and use the customers good referrals, and reference to sell more jobs.

why involve the federal gov in anything all they do is screw it up and make things cost more, and i am amazed how so much was built for so long in this country without inspections and so much of it is still standing to this day and it's older than most of us that post on this site

why involve the federal gov in anything all they do is screw it up and make things cost more, and i am amazed how so much was built for so long in this country without inspections and so much of it is still standing to this day and it's older than most of us that post on this site

I will agree with you there. What permits where pulled to build the White House? In theory permits and inspections sound good but in the real world of greedy politicians it gets corrupt. If homeowners would get and check references and not go with just the lowball price you would not need it